Sang Yuan Sheng, 36, was arrested on Monday while attempting to attach a small box to an ATM belonging to the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry & Trade (VietinBank), located near the junction of Ly Thuong Kiet and Cach Mang Thang Tam streets.

At around 5 p.m. on Monday, Le Minh Tri, a Vietinbank employee in charge of monitoring videos transmitted from ATMs to the bank office, saw Sheng and another man attempting to attach a box to the ATM.

Tri informed his colleague Dung and asked the latter to inspect the booth.

Dung arrived at the booth and at around 6:15 p.m., he saw the two men, including Sheng, returning to the booth to set up their device.

When Dung attempted to detain the duo, one of them fled on a motorbike while Sheng ran to Truong Chinh Street. However, he was quickly arrested by two traffic police officials on duty at the junction of Truong Chinh and Ly Thuong Kiet streets.

At the police station, Shen confessed that he entered Vietnam using a tourist visa through Lang Son Province's Huu Nghi Border Gate on December 1 and took a bus to HCMC on December 4.

Sheng had two electronics devices, two cell phones, four cards including two bank cards, VND6.5 million and 2,020 Chinese yuan, police found.

Meanwhile, many doctors at the nearby Thong Nhat Hospital who used the ATM regularly said they had lost money in their accounts over the past few months.

One of the victims, who wanted to be known only as M., said that she had not lost money over the past three years and that she had used this particular ATM. Then, on November 18, she lost VND4.5 million. However, the bank returned the amount to her account after she lodged a complaint, M. said.

M. also said that one of her colleagues had lost VND4.6 million, but the involved bank refused the cover the loss saying someone had withdrawn the amount with a fake card.

Police are looking for Sheng's accomplice. No further information has been released about the case as investigations continue.